The proposed research is a prospective, longitudinal study. The control group will be 100 couples who are not coping with a life threatening illness. The couples will complete self report questionnaires. The target group will be 127 male patients and their partners. The couples will be recruited during the patients' first hospitalization for ACS. The participants will complete questionnaires during the hospitalization and again six months later. Relevant data will be obtained from their medical files.